A computer program may be analyzed by a variety of impact analysis algorithms, which estimates what will be affected in the computer program if a proposed change request is made. Impact-analysis information may be used for planning changes, making changes, accommodating certain types of program changes, and tracing through the effects of changes. Impact analysis provides visibility into the potential effects of changes before the changes are implemented. The accuracy of an impact analysis algorithm may depend on the scenario. Moreover, different impact analysis algorithms may be optimized for different scenarios and may feature different properties, such as (i) rate of matches versus some expected results, also known as probability of detection, (ii) rate of mismatches, also known as “over” or probability of error, and (iii) the number of impact analysis results per transaction.
Complete theoretical descriptions, details, explanations, examples, and applications of code analysis and related subjects are readily available in standard references in the fields of computer science.